Citizenship Bill to figure in BJP manifesto: Shah

Guwahati, Feb 17 The Bharatiya Janata Party will make the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 part of the party manifesto for the next elections and pass it on return to power this year, said BJP national President Amit Shah, here on Sunday.

"We are going to include the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in our manifesto. It was not only for the northeast, but for all refugees in the country. A lot of people came to different states. Where will they go now? I can assure you that Assam and the northeast will not have to take the burden," he said.

"Only this Bill can secure Assam's demography and safeguard the identity of the indigenous people," Shah said

Shah slammed the Opposition parties for not presentation of the Bill in the Rajya Sabha and said the Congress, the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and Mamata Banerjee were spreading misinformation about it.

"We passed the Bill in the Lok sabha where we had majority. We didn't have majority in the Rajya Sabha. But I want to tell the Opposition that don't be too happy. The BJP is going to come back to power and the equations in the Rajya Sabha will also change," Shah said.

"The National Register of Citizens (NRC) was the soul of the Assam Accord. But the Congress could not introduce the NRC in all these years since 1985. Our government brought in the NRC, sending a strong message to illegal foreigners. Congress kept the issue of implementing the Clause VI hanging since 1985. But our government has formed a committee to implement it. Once we return to power this year, we will implement the Clause VI on the ground," Shah said.

Shah was here to take part in the Bhoomi Puja ceremony of the BJP state office. Earlier in the day, he visited Lakhimpur district and addressed a gathering of youth as part of the BJP Yuva Mahasabha.

"Political parties are working to strengthen the country's democracy in their own way. But among all of them, the BJP is different. It's different because the party has kept the system of internal democracy strong and vibrant. Every three years, we hold democratic elections for positions ranging from booth chief to national President. The BJP is not a dynastic party, but a cadre-based party," Shah said.

Launching an attack on the Congress, the BJP national President said dynastic political parties cannot develop a nation.

"Many parties in the country have become dynastic parties. When a party becomes dynastic, the owner's son stakes claim to become the Prime Minister, irrespective of the fact whether he has the merit, experience and patriotism. What matters is that he was born in the family," Shah said.

"Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Sanjay Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi - don't ask me any further names. In that party, there is no scope for the party workers. These kind of parties cannot develop the country. They can't fulfil the objectives of the Constitution. That is the reason why there is no development even after one family ruling the country for 55 years," he said.

"In the five years after Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister, there is not a single family in India that doesn't have a bank account. Our government provided toilets and gas connections to 10 crore families," he said.

"In Assam, there were bandhs, blockades and firings five years back, not so any more. The northeast is moving from peace to development," he said.